You will be Mine
by Spider Jerusalem
Summary: A songfic of 'Strange Currencies' by R.E.M. Ryoko refects on her love for Tenchi.


This one goes out to all you Ryoko fans out there. All right, lets go.  
  
Ryoko paced gently through the tall grass that was invading the dirt track that led up to Tenchi's vegetable patch from all sides. The sun beat down and warmed the cyan haired beauty to her core, and she was for the moment unable to wipe a large smile from her lips. She trailed her fingertips though the dry yellowed grass, her tail swishing seductively in the gentle breeze. She was about twenty yards from the treeline that surrounded the patch, and even the though the shade only extended for a few meters, she decided that she didn't want to leave the sunshine even for a few moments. Slowly, majestically, like she'd simply forgotten how gravity worked, Ryoko spread her arms and floated upwards rising higher into the warmth. For a moment she considered opening her yellow and blue striped kimono, but she eventually decided against it. No need to scare Tenchi just yet. She floated higher for a few moments more, so that the tree tops were level with her head, and then so that they were level with her feet. The scent of the forest floated up to meet her, the nectar of thousands of different flowers all combined into one. She breathed a deep breath, and smiling contentedly, manipulated herself on the warm air currents and floated forwards, the tips of the tallest branched just brushing her feet.   
  
Then she saw him.   
  
He was creating neat furrows in the earth with a hoe, possibly to plant potatoes or carrots for Ryo-oh-ki, Ryoko couldn't be sure. He was wearing a shirt, but not on his shoulders, tied around his waist, and his scruffy work jeans and boots. He had obviously been working for some time, as his back was slick with sweat. He was also wearing a red headband. Ryoko felt a tingle of excitement course through her body at the sight of him, and she was gripped, as she often was, by an inexplicable urge to hold Tenchi. With that thought in mind, she happily let herself drop, and within two seconds she had her arms wrapped around the man she loved.   
  
"Hi Ryoko…" Tenchi droned as he felt the girl press herself against him. He was so used to Ryoko's frequent invasions of his personal space that he didn't pass comment on them anymore.  
  
"Tenchi…" Ryoko murmured tenderly into Tenchi's shoulder. "Take a break for a while Tenchi…for me?"  
  
"I can't, Ryoko." Tenchi said simply, still not attempting to turn around, yet trying to carry on with his gardening.  
  
"Please?" Ryoko pleaded, hugging Tenchi's warm body all the tighter.  
  
Tenchi ignored her, instead saying:  
  
"I heard you've been fighting with Ayeka again."  
  
"She started it…" Ryoko said in a small voice.  
  
"Look, Ryoko," Tenchi said, still not turning around, "Could you just leave me alone for a bit so I can finish here?"  
  
Ryoko slumped her grip around Tenchi. Just like that she'd been dismissed. She let go of him entirely and shrank away from him a few steps.  
  
"Ok." She said sadly.  
  
Tenchi either didn't hear her or simply didn't bother to reply. Suddenly Ryoko felt as though all the joy had been sucked out of her world. She stood rooted to the spot for a few seconds. She felt as though the effort of living had become too much. She glanced around her little, and then, silently, floated back up to the tree tops. She located a sturdy branch in a nearby Oak, which she sat upon, and gazed down at Tenchi still with his back to her. Her eyes stung. Suddenly the sunshine didn't feel quite so warm anymore.   
  
I don't know why you're mean to me  
  
When I call on the telephone,  
  
And I don't know what you mean to me,  
  
But I wanna turn you on turn you up figure you out, I wanna, take you on.  
  
Ryoko blinked several times and fought back the tears. Tenchi was just in a bad mood, that was all. The fight between Ayeka and herself had obviously upset him. Truth be told it actually was Ayeka who started it, but that didn't matter. They had fought so many times that now whoever started the conflict was a mere technicality.  
  
Ryoko sat for a few moments longer and gazed upon Tenchi. Just watching him, Ryoko felt herself calm down. God, she loved him. She fought a short, one sided battle with a large grin. She couldn't even stay mad at him. Then she asked herself, why did she love him? It wasn't like he was anything special body wise, and lord knew that throughout her adventures as a space pirate she'd seen more handsome men, and he obviously wasn't a master in the brain department, so then, what was it? Perhaps it was his beyond belief kindliness, or his honest open nature. That was the kind of thing she'd never known. It could even have been the fact that she longed to break down his shy cautious exterior and really get to know him. She wasn't sure, but she knew that it was definitely fun to think about. Slowly the warmth and the sunlight seeped back into her world. The smells from the forest once again assaulted her eager nostrils, even as she stretched out on the limb and sighed happily, though not of course, so Tenchi could hear. She more than loved him. She needed him.  
  
These words, "You will be mine."  
  
These words, "You will be mine."   
  
She supposed she was stupid, loving Tenchi so much and not really knowing why. All she knew was that she didn't really care anymore. The love she felt for him had grown so gradually on her as she'd watched him age from her prison cave that she'd barely noticed it. In retrospect it was Tenchi's frequent visits to the area around the cave that had kept her sane whilst she remained imprisoned. It was only when she was released that she was able to connect reality to fantasy and came to the rare conclusion that he two were unified. And Ryoko Hakubi had fallen hopelessly and helplessly in love.  
  
The fool might be my middle name  
  
But I'd be foolish not to say  
  
I'm going to make whatever it takes  
  
Ring you up call you down sign your name secret love  
  
Make it rhyme, take you there, and make you mine.   
  
Ryoko continued to spy on Tenchi. He had reached the end of the furrow he had been hoeing and had now turned around to face her. He didn't see her, however, because his eyes were fixated on the ground he was working on. Ryoko smiled. He could be so single minded sometimes. Sweat had soaked into the cotton shirt he was wearing around his waist and plastered his short black hair to his forehead. Ryoko had always been a very fast person, quick to temper, to make split decisions, to act, even to fall in love. Yet she could just sit and watch Tenchi for hours. She hated sitting still. But she would have sat for the rest of her life if it meant she could be with Tenchi. She had fallen for him so much.  
  
I tripped and fell. Did I fall  
  
What I want to feel, I want to feel it now  
  
You know with love comes strange currencies,  
  
And here is my appeal:  
  
I need a chance, a second chance, a third chance, a fourth chance  
  
A word, a signal, a nod, a little breath  
  
Just to fool myself, catch myself, and make it real, real   
  
  
  
Tenchi was always so closed about his feelings about her. She wondered if she wasn't just kidding her self. She needed…something. A sign maybe. Even if it was a negative one. He was so repressed it was unbelievable. It made her tingle with a strange kind of emotion. I was like excitement, topped up with frustration and tinted red with a touch of anger. She felt this particular tingle in the pit of her stomach as she watched Tenchi slowly sweat and toil his way towards her. Somehow, though it agonised her at times, the more that he remained uninterested, the more she fell in love with him. She sighed deeply and gazed down at Tenchi. She smiled. She supposed that she was just a girl haunted by those three little words.  
  
These words, "You will be mine"  
  
These words, "You will be mine." all the time.   
  
These words, "You will be mine."  
  
These words, they haunt me, hunt me down, catch in my throat, make me pray,  
  
Say, love's confined, oh.   
  
Ryoko blinked. She didn't know how long she'd been sitting there, but now the once blue sky had been stained a warm crimson by the setting sun. The land had become a pleasant red colour, ad even as she looked, Tenchi stood up, stretched his back and thew his hoe over his back. He picked his way over to the track that led back to the house. Ryoko frowned. She supposed she'd better get back too. Silently, She allowed herself to drift from the bough, and soon she was floating just a little behind directly above Tenchi. She lost his as he entered the forest, but then quickly recovered his trail as he came out the other side. He strolled up to the house, and Ryoko landed quietly behind him. Sensing her presence, Tenchi glanced over his shoulder.  
  
"Hi Ryoko," He said brightly.  
  
"Hi." Ryoko smiled. "How was the work?"  
  
"As ever." Tenchi shrugged. "You should try it with me sometime."  
  
"Maybe I will."  
  
Tenchi smiled, and turned and opened the front door. He hesitated.  
  
"Coming in? he asked.  
  
"In a minute," Ryoko reasoned.   
  
Tenchi paused for a second, as if to process the information, and entered the house.  
  
Ryoko watched him go.  
  
"You will be mine," She whispered to no one.  
  
THE END  
  
I wrote this as a response to the feedback I got for 'The One I Love'. This is to prove that I don't hate Ryoko, and that I don't want to kill her. So I hope you're happy. I've sacrificed my artistic integrity for you bastards. Look grateful. 


End file.
